Solid-phase sintering and vapor-liquid-solid growth of BP@MgO quantum dot crystals with a high piezoelectric response

Low-dimensional piezoelectric and quantum piezotronics are two important branches of low-dimensional materials, playing a significant role in the advancement of low-dimensional devices, circuits, and systems. Here, we firstly propose a solid-phase sintering and vapor-liquid-solid growth (SS-VLS-like) method of preparing a quantum-sized oxide material, i.e., black phosphorus (BP)@MgO quantum dot (QD) crystal with a strong piezoelectric response. Quantum-sized MgO was obtained by Mg slowly released from MgB2 within the confinement of a nanoflake BP matrix. Since the slow release of Mg only grows nanometer-sized MgO to hinder the further growth of MgO, we added a heterostructure matrix constraint: nanoflake BP. With the BP as the matrix confinement, MgO QDs embedded in the BP@MgO QD crystals were formed. These crystals have a layered two-dimensional (2D) structure with a thickness of 11 nm and are stable in the air. In addition, piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) images show that they have extremely strong polarity. The strong polarity can also be proved by polarization reversal and a simple pressure sensor.

Automated summary

Low-dimensional piezoelectric and quantum piezotronics are two important branches of low-dimensional materials that play crucial roles in the development of low-dimensional devices, circuits, and systems. In this study, we propose a solid-phase sintering and vapor-liquid-solid growth method to prepare a quantum-sized oxide material, BP@MgO quantum dot crystal, with a strong piezoelectric response. The crystal exhibits layered two-dimensional structure with a thickness of 11 nm and shows extremely strong polarity, which is confirmed by piezoresponse force microscopy images as well as polarization reversal and pressure sensor experiments.